So how does an amateur enthusiast get in on a harvest/crush?

I’m interested in learning more about the winemaking process (as hands-on as possible) and would like to take advantage of my fortunate proximity to Napa/Sonoma/AV. I realize the obvious answer is to hook up with a winemaker, but in trying to do that I’m wondering whether there are any issues I should be aware of, for example - is it possible for someone inexperienced to make a real contribution, or do they basically just get in the way? Are there safety concerns? Is it a potential selling point to have prior lab/fermentation/pilot plant experience? Not trying to make this sound like a “position-wanted” ad, just looking for some general guidance. I know wineries sometimes take on interns for harvest/crush, but I don’t exactly fit that demographic at this point.

Steve, a tough and busy crowd here now. I’d say you may have missed your chance for this year. Most folks make hiring choices a while before harvest. Not much else to say.

Probably more “get in the way” than anything, but it depends. Are you just going to be a weekender? If you are not going to be around much, winemakers are generally not willing to take someone like that on because you wouldn’t be around enough to learn what to do, and get the rhythm of things.

Most definitely.
The biggest problem with inexperienced people is that they are not aware enough and not familiar with what to expect. This is especially true around forklifts- you have to be constantly aware of where they are and where they are going. Again- knowing the rhythm of the winery and being able to anticipate what is going to happen next.

Experience is always preferred.

But seriously, I would suggest trying a VERY SMALL winery for the first go-round. You are less likely to be in the way at a place that is not hectic, and more likely to find a winemaker who might be receptive for an extra hand (but don’t expect to be paid in this kind of situation).

Now…off to work…

We take one raw recruit each year, break them down and then rebuild them into unbelievably skilled cellar workers. They do everything- except shovel tanks which is my sole province. At big places, I’ve known guys who did nothing but fill barrels all freaking harvest ~yawn~

And its not real complex stuff wherever you are- harvest work is largely about scrubbing, washing and cleaning with some sorting, pressing and barrel filling thrown in. Any dipshit can do it- I stand before you as Exhibit “1”.

Steve,

If you want to come up and help sort grapes for a day, we’d be happy to have you. Drop me a PM.

Adam Lee
Siduri Wines

I’m just an amateur winemaker but I have helped out a few times at a couple different wineries. It seems to me the smaller the place the easier it is to get in and help. You can pick peoples brains a little more in that situation when it’s less hectic.

Appreciate the responses!

Casey - I hear ya. I actually thought I had something arranged with a small producer prior to harvest but that’s looking somewhat uncertain now, which is what prompted me to take a step back and go for a wider viewpoint.

Linda - exactly the perspective I was looking for, especially on getting to know the rhythm of a winery. I have enough experience with safety issues in an industrial setting to know how much of that is site-specific. If I could plan far enough ahead of time I could probably free up two+ weeks, but with uncertain harvest timing things get a little trickier. Definitely not looking to get paid.

John - Pretty confident I can meet an “any dipshit” standard

Adam - PM coming.

Looks like I might get the opportunity to spend a day with Carroll Kemp at Red Car this week, just trying to see if the timing works.

Steve - I get dozens and dozens of requests from people to ‘come help’ every year. We joked about this on Saturday actually as we were picking. I always want to answer, “Sure I can use help during harvest, go to my house and do the laundry and wash the dishes, because I don’t have time for that.”

The advice I would give is actually don’t ask questions while work is going on. Bugging the winemaker while they are working is likely to not get you an invite to day two. Wait for a slow time, or after things have wrapped up to ask your questions. Our pick on Saturday started at 7AM and we were done at 1:30:

7-9 pick
9:9:30 transport
9:30-9:35 process grapes
9:35-11:30 clean
11:30-1:30 return rental trailer

Stef and I did the winemaking - taking readings, making decisions and additions from 9:35-10:30 while the crew cleaned (and I helped clean)

So if you have a truck and/or if you are willing to clean things you have a better shot.

Steve you are more than welcome to help with midnight punch-downs! But seriously if you wanted to see how a small winery makes wine I would be willing to host you. Do you work full time? Or do you have days to spare? Most of the work would be sorting and cleaning but after that I could show you how to take measurements, make adjustments/additions, and if you got out here soon enough we could go out vineyard sampling. Are you trying to break into the industry or jut interested? PM me.

you’re also likely to not have a conversation longer than 1 minute with the winemaker the entire harvest. You’ll spend most of your time working with the fulltime cellar crew. They can answer most of your questions, and are more than likely happy to answer them as they know that the more information you have about what’s going on is only going to make their job easier.

We are sick n’ tired of talking to the same small crew for 9 months out of the year, so the 3-4 months when the harvest help is around is very refreshing for new conversations and rehashing tired jokes.

You can also buy a few hundred lbs of grapes and wing it on your own in your garage. The folks on the board are always willing to help and answer questions as you run into issues. You could do it no problem, even much smaller scale with enough to make 5 gallons of wine.

That said, I was incredibly fortunate to work a harvest and it was an invaluable experience. Biggest thing I learned wasn’t so much “wine making” but sanitation and how to keep things clean.

Another way to help, volunteer to help bottling. There is some downtime and its a good opportunity to ask questions and get to know people.

I’ve helped with bottling and it’s basically 30min-1.5hrs at a time full on trying to keep up and then 20 minutes standing around not really needing to do anything while wine or bottle types are switched out. If you are able to read some books on wine waking and then volunteer I think you might even get more out of it. You wouldn’t feel the need to ask as many questions but you would be able to just watch and kind of see whats happening and learn by watching. Making a few gallons yourself probably isn’t a bad idea either if you want to learn. One of the bigest things it’;s done for me is to be able to taste a wine through it’s entire evolution from juice to bottle aged and at some point over the hill.

Adam,

We have 6-10 tons that will be coming in and could always use an extra hand. Drop me a PM as well and I will let you know when we could use the help.

-dave

Establish a rapport before harvest.

Be willing to “gopher” supplies & parts, or drive and get samples as needed.

Excel at cleaning, and remembering how to handle clean and sanitary things.

Be fit, able to lift 110 lbs (empty barrel) and be sensible about working on a wet slippery floor around moving machinery. Having a long bed Pickup with receiver hitch and ability to back up a trailer is a good thing.

Familiarity with field spanglish a plus.


We would welcome help, we will be crushing 25 tons this year, up from 12 last.

I have to imagine that many wineries would see many of these “volunteers” as tourists who don’t really want to work that hard, but instead have a rosy view of what it would be like to work at a winery. I think this viewpoint sounds jaded, but is probably fairly grounded in reality. I have wanted to work full time at a winery for years now, but haven’t been able to pull the trigger on completely uprooting my life and career (as an HVAC Engineer) to do so. Instead I make about 10 gallons on wine a year at my home and take care of the few grapevines I planted in my backyard. I really appreciate the willingness of many winemakers to take on such newbies.

As a side-note, this is my first post, so hello everyone!

Too late for this year, but maybe recommended reading for next year? It also has a list of resources for cellar rat openings.

On the sig line below …

Steve, Let us know what happened.

These threads are fascinating and each time convinces me that there is way to much hard work involved in making wine. I’m happy to enjoy the end product and happy to leave it at that.

It is hard work. For every one “cool” thing you get to do, there is 10x more of cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.

Some of the cleaning it fun. I loved climbing into a bladder press with a hose and cleaning every nook and cranny. Seems I have a talent for it. Climbing up a ladder to scrub a hopper, not so much fun. Wet hands and stainless steel is an easy way to learn what it is like to be an orange being,peeled.

But, the fun stuff makes it worth it. Standing on a narrow plank over a huge open top fermenter, trying to do punch downs without falling it. That’s heaven right there.